Highway barrier for railroad crossings



P. PACE "HIGHWAY BARRIER FOR RAILROAD GROSSINGS Filed Feb. 23, 1923 2Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

PeZErPw TTORNEY June 17, 1924. 1,498,115

P. PACE HIGHWAY BARRIER FOR, RAILROAD CROSSINGS Filed Feb. 23, 1923 2ShevLS-Sheel P All nmm 4 F 4 K? O q 7 5 g -9 a O INVENTOR.

.Peierfiaca BY k" Patented June 17, 1924,

UNITED STATES PETER PAGE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

- HIGHWAY BARRIER FOR RAIL-ROAD CROSSINGS.

Application filed February 23, 1923. Serial No. 620,622.

To all whom it may concern: N

Be it known that I, PETER PAGE, a citizen of the United States, residingat Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Highway Barriers forRailroad Crossings; and I do hereby de clare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andto thereference numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to railroads and means for protectinghighways crossing the same and it has for its object to provide asimple, convenient and eifective barrier or gate for the highway thatcan be operated with ease and certainty to safely warn vehicles of theapproach of a train and to prevent them from proceeding on to the track.The improvements are directed in part toward providing a gate of thisnature that will yield sufficiently when struck by a vehicle to avoiddamage to itself and to the vehicle. To these and other ends theinvention reesides in certain improvements and combinations of parts allas will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features beingpointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a railroad of a highway crossing the same andprovided with automatic barriers constructed in accordance with andillustrating one embodiment of my invention;

Figure 2 is an elevation of the gate mecha nism partly in section andtaken in trans verse section through the road bed of the highway, thegate being in lowered or normal position. i

Figure 3 is a similar view with the gate in raised or danger position.

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line H of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail section on the line 55 of Figure 3 showing themanner in "which the gate may yield laterally.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the upper end of thegate.

Figure 7 is an enlarged transverse section of the valve mechanismcontrolling the pneumatic operating means for the gate.

Figure 8 is a plan view of such controlling mechanism. i

Figure 9 is a detail side elevation of the actuator. mounted on therailroad trackv for opening the gate and Figure 10 is a detail showingthe position of the closing actuator.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesameparts.

To first give a general idea of the principal elements of the apparatusI provide the highway at opposite sides of the railroad withpreferablyvertically movable gates lo-' struck by a vehicle they will yield,yielding retaining devices being employed to hold them upright.Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 and2 indicate the railsof a railroad crossed by a highway the road bed of which is indicated at3; At suitable distances from the track on each side there is providedin the road bed a transversely extending well 4 the sides of whichtoward the edges of'the road are flanked bypreferably ,tubular guideposts 5; On the inner sides of the posts are grooves 6 constitutingguide ways that receive trunnions or projecting pins 7 on the ends of agate frame 8. The

gate is of suitable height to offer a barrier for an ordinary roadvehicle, is preferably composed of netting as indicated at 9 andnormally occupies the lower position of Fig ure 2 at the bottom of theguide 6 with its upper edge level with the surface of the road bedWVithin thepit between'the posts and below the gate is a cylinder 10containing a piston 11 on a rod 12 extending through the upper head 13of the cylinder and through a transverse bar 14 connecting the posts 5and resting on the top of the cylinder (there being a similar bar 15connecting the posts below upon which bar the cylinder rests).-

The upper end of the rod carries a transverse bar 16 provided with apintle 17 the ends of which travel in the guideway 6 1n the manner ofthe trunnions 7. The 'pintle is received in knuckles 18 on the bar 16and on the lower rail of the gate frame respectively. When the gate iselevated in the manner hereinafter set forth from the po sition ofFigure 2 to the operative position of Figure 3, the, trunnions 7 reachthe upper ends of theguide posts where the guideways 6 areprovidedwith-laterally turned outlets 19 as shown in Figures it, 5 and,6. Leaf springs 20 restrict these lateral extensions of outlets so thatthe trunnions 7 will not normally escape but when force is used as bythe impact of a vehicle the trunnions are forced and could stop in timeto avoid being struck by the train.

Spectacle lights 21 may surmount the posts: 5 to give warning of theiroperation and act as beacons at night.v They are suitably supplied fromwires 22 running from the-pit up through the hollow posts.

It will be seen from. the foregoing that pneumatic or hydraulic pressureintroduced through a pipe 23 into. the bottom of the cylinder 10 belowthe piston 11 will force u'pthe plunger rod 12 and elevate the gate.

Itwill descend of it own weight when this pressure is released and it isin this way that the gate is operated and controlled. The source ofpressure supply is herein repre sented by a tank 2ttrom which a pipe 25leads to a conveniently located valve casing 26 having furtherconnection at 27 with the pipes 23. Also running from the latter at 28back through the valve casing 26 in a relatively transverse directionand emerging at 29 is an exhaust line having a discharge point at 30 Arotary valve member 31 in the valve casing as will be seen fromFigure "7turns through 90 degrees to close the pres sure line and open theexhaust line as shown in. full lines or the reverse and the positionofthe gates is thus determined.

The valve 31 is on a shaft 32 projecting through the top of the valvecasing 26 and provided with a pinion 83. The said pinion IYlQSl'lQS witha rack bar- 34; movable in a suitable guide '35 carried by a bracketmounted on the valve casing. Bell cranks 36 pivoted at 37 and havingslotted connection at '38 with'the rack banare adapted to move thelatter in oppositedirections to'open and close the valve; Connected tothe two bell cranks respectively are pull rods 39 and 40,

the former extending down the track in the directionfromwvhicli thetrain approaches and being connected to a trip 40 pivoted at 411 toonset the rails as shown in Figure 9. i

The other pull rod is connected similarly to "another trip 42. pivotedat 1 4:3 to" the rail beyond the" crossing The normal positions of'thes'e trips is is shown in full lines in Figure?) and in the lowerdotted line position'in Figure 10. An approaching train depresses thetrip 40 pullingthe rod 39 and opening the valve 31 tothe dottedlineposition of Figure 7. This supplies pressure to the gates and at thesame time raises the trip 42 to the upper dotted line position of Figure10. The gates remain raised until the train passes the crossing andreaches the trip 42" which it dc? presses rotating the" valve 31 to' the'f ulli line position of Figure? and allovi in'g;pressure in thecylinder 1:0 to'escape through theiex haust line 28 --29 with aconsequent-lowering of the gates. The original"position' of the trip lOis restored ready for actuation by a succeeding train. 7

As before'stated, the'pressure nied'ium'may be either air or' waterandobvi'ously the gate" itself may be ofany desired design or construction. I

I claim as my invention: V V

1. In a highway crossing barrier for railroads, the combination with arailroad and a highway crossing the same and provided with a pitadjacent to the railroad, of a; vertically movable gatenormallymetract'eid within the pit below the surface of the high way,pneumatic operating means for raising the gate to bar the highway andlower the same and a controlling device for the operating meansembodying a trip arranged on the railroad to be actuated by anapproaching train.' I

2. In a highway crossing barrier for rail; roads the combination with arailroad and a highway crossing the same and provided with apit adjacentto the railroad. Of a vertically movable gate adapted tobar the highwayand normally retracted within the pit below the surface of the highway,posts at the sides of the pit provided with guides for the gate cylinderand piston in the pit below the gate the pistonrod' supporting the gate,pressure and exhaust pipes connected to the cylinder, a valvecontrolling the same and train operated trips on the raiiroad foractuating the valve.

In a highway crossirigbarrier forirail-z roads, the combination with arailroad and a highway crossing thesame and provided with a pit adjacentto the railroad, of a vertically movable gate normally retracted within,the pit below the surface of the highway, pneumatic operating means forraising and lowering the gate, a rotary valve controlling the same, apinion on the" valve, a rack bar meshing, with the pinion, levers formoving the rack bar in opposite directions, pull rods 0n the respectivelevers and trips onthe railroad on opposite sides of thehighwayrespectively connected to the levers and adapted to be actuated apassin train to raise and then lower the gate.

PETER PAC-E.

